UConn Overwhelming Favorite to Win Big East Tournament
2024 Big East Expert Pick: Defending Champ Marquette Priced +500
The Big East Tournament tips off Wednesday in New York at Madison Square Garden, the World’s Most Famous Arena.
Defending NCAA champion and top-seeded UConn is a heavy favorite to win the tournament. The Huskies went 18-2 in league play to claim their first regular-season title since 1999, the same season they won their first of five national championships.
Will anyone knock them off? Creighton and Marquette stand the best chance, but March is always ripe for surprises.
Read on as we break down the odds and give our 2024 Big East expert pick.
THE FAVORITE
UConn (-135)
What’s not to like?
The defending national champions are heavy favorites to win the Big East Tournament, and they are also the NCAA betting odds pick in the NCAA Tournament at +475.
UConn is among the country’s most balanced teams with Big East Player of the Year Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan, and it has the built-in advantage of playing at Madison Square Garden, affectionately known by its rabid fan base as Storrs South. The Huskies (28-3, 18-2) are 20-0 at home/neutral site-games this season.
The third-ranked Huskies have 11 Quad 1 wins, including non-conference victories over No. 4 North Carolina and No. 17 Gonzaga. They are third in adjusted offensive efficiency, 13th in adjusted defensive efficiency and own the nation’s third-highest point differential at plus-17.1.
UConn has won 22 games by double digits and 14 games by at least 20 points. It has covered in seven of its last eight games and is a conference-best 20-11 ATS.
TOP CONTENDERS
Creighton (+425)
Creighton handed UConn one of its three losses, beating the Huskies 85-66 last month at home. The Bluejays (23-8, 14-6) went 7-1 down the stretch to grab the No. 2 seed, meaning they won’t see the Huskies before Saturday’s final.
With Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner, No. 8 Creighton is one of the few college basketball teams that can hang with the Huskies offensively. The Bluejays are a bit volatile because of their reliance on the 3-point shot — they average a conference-high 29.5 attempts — but their potential is immense. They rank 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
The Bluejays also beat No. 19 Alabama and split a pair of games with No. 10 Marquette.
Marquette (+500)
Will Tyler Kolek play? The reigning Big East Player of the Year missed the final games with an oblique injury.
Kam Jones is capable of carrying his scoring load on nights Kolek is unable to play, but the 10th-ranked Golden Eagles (23-8, 14-6) will need their star point guard healthy to reach their potential.
Marquette has eight Quad 1 wins but also lost twice to UConn, albeit once without Kolek.
A semifinal matchup looms with Creighton for the No. 3 seed.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
St. John’s (+800)
After five straight wins, St. John’s (19-12, 11-9) is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. A win over Seton Hall in Thursday’s quarterfinals would do Rick Pitino’s crew a lot of good.
St. John’s split a home-and-home with Creighton and twice played UConn tight.
Some may say the Red Storm — who haven’t lost since Pitino’s fiery postgame rant — are peaking. Meanwhile, others may deem them as a candidate to sell high. Either way, they need every win they can get to avoid landing in the NIT.
Villanova (+1600)
As the No. 6 seed, Villanova will need to win four NCAAB games in four days to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. At this time, it is hard to see the Wildcats (17-14, 10-10) advancing much further than Wednesday against DePaul.
Villanova has been far too streaky to earn the benefit of the doubt. The Wildcats own Top 10 wins over North Carolina and Creighton but also losses to Penn, St. Joseph, and Drexel.
It’s safe to wonder why the Wildcats are still even in consideration for the NCAA Tournament.
LONGSHOTS
Seton Hall (+3500)
Seton Hall started 6-1 in Big East play, highlighted by a 75-60 upset of UConn in December. Since then, the Pirates (20-11, 13-7) have essentially held their own.
There is nothing glamorous about this team — aside, of course, from beating the Huskies — but the fourth-seeded Pirates could be a tough out if they recapture their form. Thursday against St. John’s is essentially a play-in game for the Big Dance.
Seton Hall is led by senior Kadary Richmond, who is averaging career highs across the board in points (16.2), rebounds (6.6), assists (4.8) and steals (2.1).
Providence (+6000)
Providence had a tough finish to the regular season, losing three of its last four games on the NCAA men’s basketball schedule. Their only win during that span came against Georgetown, Tuesday’s first-round opponent.
The seventh-seeded Friars (19-12) have one of the conference’s best duos in Devin Carter and Josh Oduro, who followed coach Kim English from George Mason. But they haven’t been able to replace star forward Bryce Hopkins (torn ACL).
The road is just too tough for Providence to make any noise here.
Rest of the Field:
Xavier (+11000)
Butler (+11000)
Georgetown (+100000)
DePaul (+100000)
For NCAA basketball scores today, betting odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
